Performance of a data communication system is sometimes defined in terms of its throughput capability, in part due to the significance of data throughput rates to performance of many data communication services. High-speed data communication services, historically, were performed by way of wireline communication systems. However, the rapid rate at which communication technologies have evolved has also permitted the development and deployment of radio communication systems capable of communicating data at high throughput rates. Data services that necessitate for their execution the communication of large amounts of data in short periods of time are increasingly able to be performed by way of a radio communication system that is capable of communicating the data at the high throughput rates. With further evolution of communication technologies, the need for the capability to communicate data at yet higher data throughput rates by way of radio communication systems shall likely become possible and communication services necessitating data to be communicated at such higher data throughput rates shall correspondingly become available.
Various cellular communication systems, constructed in conformity with various operating specifications, are exemplary of radio communication systems that are capable of communicating data at high data throughput rates. For instance, GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) cellular communication systems have been developed and widely deployed. Many GSM networks provide for GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) that permits communication of data at relatively high data rates. An extension to GPRS, referred to as EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution), is presently undergoing deployment. EDGE-capable communication systems provide for communication of data at data throughput rates that are significantly higher than those achievable in GSM/GPRS-only communication systems. In spite of the improved communication capabilities of an EDGE-capable system, there is a continuing need yet further to increase the achievable data throughput rates by which data is communicated in a radio communication system.
An EDGE-capable communication system is operated in general conformity with an operating specification promulgated by a standards-setting body. The operating specification defines, amongst other things, a channel structure that defines channels on a radio air interface formed between communication stations operable in the communication system. Multiple carriers are available for use, defined sometimes logically in terms of mobile index allocation offsets. The channel structure includes frames, each of which is divided into time slots. Data, at a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, is typically communicated as a series data RLC data blocks, each RLC data block including a header part and a payload part. Due to various requirements, even though frames and time slots are defined upon each of the multiple carriers that are available for use to communicate blocks of data, communication resources that are allocated for the communication of data pursuant to a particular communication session are allocated upon a single carrier. Communication resources, to date, are not allocated upon multiple carriers or, more generally, across a plurality of mobile allocation index offsets. Because, conventionally, communication resource allocations are made upon only a single radio carrier or mobile allocation index offset, there presently is no mechanism by which to identify communication resources across a plurality of radio carriers or index offsets.
It is in light of this background information that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.